Paper Plane
by Nukas
Summary: Even if every shooting star was a plane, they still couldn't have it. Human!Au, street kids. Leo is trying, Mikey is second eldest, Raph is confused and struggling, and Donny is a mute. If this continues, it will be in his P.O.V. Disclaimers and explanations inside. Image isn't mine!


So, made on a whim? Is this a good concept lol. If no one really cares for it, then I won't upload another chapter, but this concept came to me one night and I fell in love with the idea of an older brother Mikey but still being a younger brother. So, thank HyperTeenager24 with her/his "TMN", great piece of work! Oh c'mon, you guys knew it was coming eventually. Also, this is kind of inspired by "The Box Car Children", you can find the movie on Netflix. Human!AU.

I've been busy; just got a job and it's Mon-Fri and sometimes I come in on Sat, and I be there most of the day.

Excuse any late updates, I'm still doing school too ;)

Enough excuses and rambling, on with the story!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own this franchise or the mentioned movie.**

* * *

 **Paper Planes  
**

* * *

" _Stay away! Stay away!"_

" _Please, don't...not again..."_

"NO!" Don jolted awake with a scream, tears in his light brown eyes, welling up.

"Don? Don, it's okay, it was just another nightmare. It's okay baby brother." Mikey sighed, holding his younger brother. His blue eyes shone with nothing but worry. Don had always hated sleeping for a reason.

The sleep paralysis.

Don cried as he shook, the 12 years old hated the feeling. He couldn't move, prey for whatever his horrible imagination could come up with.

Mikey rubbed his brother's back until he calmed down.

Looking towards Raph, Don's fraternal twin, 3 minutes older, he nodded, signally he could head back to sleep. Raph let out a breath before rolling back to face the wall and try to head back to sleep, his shaggy strawberry blonde hair covering the side of his face along with his deep brown eyes. Don and Raph shared the queen while Leo and Mikey slept on the floor. They had to use what they had.

Mikey continued to stroke Don's brown, thin hair, let out of its usual ponytail.

"You got him?" Mikey turned down to the floor where Leo was. His brother with dark brown hair kept short and his midnight blue eyes completely visible, shining with concern and love. They held wisdom beyond the years of a simple 15 years old.

"Yup, kid just needs some sleep." The 14 years old confirmed, blowing a breath.

Leo gave a weak smile before laying back down on the carboard which had been laid down for them to sleep on. They had been lucky to find one mattress, even if it was sort of dirty.

Once Don had settled, Mikey laid him back down before crawling off and going to lay down next to Leo.

It was hot as hell inside the old box car they called home, so Mikey shrugged his worn t-shirt off and laid on the hot floor with nothing but knee length boxers on.

He was too hot to care really.

Leo gave a huff, "Really?"

Mikey flashed his bright grin of his, "Hell yeah. Way too hot for anything to be on this hot rod of a body." He used one of his hands to 'show off' his 'hot' body while the other arm kept him propped up. Leo chuckled and propped himself up on his elbows.

Mikey was a bit shorter than Leo but not by much, about 3 inches. Don on the other hand, was getting taller by the day. Raph was a bit taller than Don but wasn't growing nearly as fast.

Don'd probably top him as well as Raph.

' _Damn.'_

"If you guys are going to be so loud, might as well get up." Someone's voice mumbled. Mikey gave a laugh while Leo blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Our bad, Raph."

"Whatever..." He sat up groggily and gave a small glare at Mikey, " _He's_ being the loudest."

Mikey gave an embarrassed chuckle and Leo rolled his eyes.

Don was still soundly sleeping though.

"How?" Raph shook his head at Don's sleeping form before jumping.

At that, Don rolled over, smiling sheepishly.

It was Mikey's turn to shake his head.

"I've been fooled."

"Well, at least we're all up. C'mon, it's about 4 to 6 in the morning right now. We should get moving." Leo suggested. Nodding, Mikey stood up smiling wide.

"Yup! Up and at 'em everyone!"

"How in the world can you have _so much_ _energy_? Like, you do coke or something?" Raph complained, stretching a bit before picking up his backpack on the floor, torn and ripped in plenty of places but still trust worthy.

Leo sent Raph a glare and he sighed.

"Sorry..." He mumbled.

Leo _wouldn't_ hesitate to spank them, after all, it's what their caregivers would do when they misbehaved. He was their authority figure so to speak. He wasn't abusive, he'd just knee them and spank them once or twice and then hug them and explain what they did wrong. Better than what Ms. Nancy used to do.

As they all grabbed their bags (a satchel in Don's case), they opened the old, rusty cab door and Leo forced it open. The four boys began piling out

 **In the city...**

"Okay, remember, we're just finding things that are thrown away. No stealing, we can't go back to that orphanage." Leo explained, looking mostly towards Raph. He scoffed and rolled his eyes before storming to a nearby alley way, Mikey knowing to follow without a word. Looking towards Don, he knew he'd be fine when listening to him.

"C'mon, Don. We're going to the pawn shop, then we're off to the store." Don nodded and followed without a word. He had always been a mute. Their mother had taught him speech since they were young, but Don never spoke. He understood, comprehended, but never actually spoke.

* * *

"Look, Raph! I found a perfectly good comic book! Wanna keep it?" He sang, waving the comic in the 12 years old's face.

"Ugh." He turned around and rolled his eyes once again before continuing to search through the bin. Finding a perfectly good remote, probably thrown away by someone who didn't know how to use the damned thing, he put it in his backpack. He never had a TV before.

"Probably thrown away by a spoiled brat." He grumbled. Mikey frowned and tucked a piece of his own shaggy blonde hair behind his ear. He hated how negative Raph was acting lately.

"Alright, I know you're going through puberty and stuff, but lighten up, Raph. C'mon, wanna read it before we pawn it tomorrow?" Raph frowned. He knew how much of an asshole he was being lately, but he couldn't help it. Their situation sucked.

Sighing, Raph came down from the box he was using as a stool to reach inside the bin and came beside his big brother. He was just trying to cheer him up.

"Wow, that worked?" Mikey chuckled, causing Raph to punch him in the arm.

"Shut it."

As Raph read the comic for a moment, leafing through it, Mikey noticed the van pulling into it.

"Raph!" He hissed, his voice dead serious. He grabbed Raph's forearm, forgetting the junk and their bags. Raph dropped the comic as he was pulled towards the garbage bins. Before he could register anything, he was being tossed in like an item and then shut in.

Raph scrambled to sit up straight in the garbage, but due to the adrenaline, he didn't pay any attention to the filth or the smell.

"Mikey?" He whispered. Did Mikey jump in with him?

Nothing.

"Shit..." He whispered again, his eyes widening in fear. Whatever he had thrown him in here for was big enough for him to make a scene. Which meant his brother was in trouble.

* * *

As Leo lead Don into the local pawn shop, he could hear the faint playing of a song...

' _Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin' stars  
I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now...'_

' _How ironic...'_ Donny thought.

They greeted the old man with smiles.

"Hi, Mr. Julian." Leo greeted with a small smile. They knew the old man well. He was usually the one behind the counter on weekdays.

"Ah, hello you two. More treasure you boys find, I take it?" The old, dark-skinned man chuckled.

Don nodded enthusiastically.

"And hello to you too, Donatello. It's been awhile since you've come in. How are you doing?" He offered, begging to hear the young one speak.

Don shrugged and then flashed a small, impish smile. The man caved and laughed at how cute the young boy looked with his gap tooth.

"Alright then, what do you need pawned boys?" He smiled.

"Um, we found an old book, some clothing, and even some jewelry. I'm betting they're fake though." Leo explained, putting some things on the desk.

The Julian's normally only pawned pieces of jewelry and such, but when the boys explained their situation, they caved and decided to pawn whatever items the boys brought in and decided the worth from there. The old man ran this place with his wife and their son and daughter, Kevin and Macie. Don loved played with Marci, as she was around his age. Raph preferred hanging out with Kevin, who was about 2 or 3 years older than Raph but didn't push him away because he was younger, understanding he didn't want to feel like a 'kid'. Macie was around 10 or 11.

"Well, I say this shirt and these pants are about 15 dollars since it's for a toddler. The jewelry _is_ fake, but I'll give you about 30 dollars for it, Leo. The book is about, eh, 5 dollars, considering the condition. Sorry boys, I can't give any higher." He sighed.

On the other hand, Leo and Don were beaming.

"That's about 50 dollars, Mr. Julian! That's for _sure_ enough! We shouldn't have to pawn for another week or so! Thank you." It broke the old man's heart to see them so happy for just enough to eat, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Welp, you boys will definitely be eating well tonight. Don't forget that if you're ever hungry, we have food available."

"We know, Julian. Thanks for the help." Leo smiled as he took the cash from the hefty man.

"Not a problem, son." He waved to them as they left.

Looking towards Don, he ruffled his hair lightly, irking the small boy.

"Haha, we got to show this to the others! Actual meals for the next week; Mikey's going to love cooking again! Let's go find those two before they get themselves in trouble." He smiled, causing Don to reflect.

Nodding, Don followed, ever silent.

* * *

Mikey's eyes were wide as the van pulled in. Raph was safe, so one thing was taken care of...

Now he had to run.

Mikey crouched behind the bin as he saw the men come out of the van, big, tough looking Purple Dragons.

They weren't to be played with, Mikey knew that from the scar on Leo's leg.

Mikey pressed closer against the wall that the dumpster was against. Maybe if he became small enough, they wouldn't see him.

"Heh, did you see that fool? The way he flinched when we stole his money! Haha, man was he such a wimp." One huge one laughed. Mikey swallowed weakly, getting ready to run. As the men begin laughing and going to the back, they opened the trunk of the van and begin taking out duffel bags of money.

Mikey's got wider. These guys were stealing from innocent people! He tried to shrink back again as he saw the guns in their back pockets, but as he did so, he accidently stepped on a black bag filled with cans.

Damnit.

"Hey, look what we got here boys. Some lil' punk trynna get sneaky wit it. How 'bout we show 'im what we do to lost children?" Another one pointed out. Mikey frowned and stood.

' _Sorry, Raph. Gonna have to bolt. Please, please stay put until I come back for you...'_

Mikey stood and bolted as fast as he could, his gangly body moving as fast as it could.

His legs were long and skinny, so he hoped he had the advantage.

When Mikey was halfway to the other side, he heard a gun click.

' _Leo's gonna kill me...'_

* * *

As Leo went back to the alley way he had last seen the two in, he froze for a moment and then slowly ran a hand over his old scar, right under his scrappy jeans.

Don's eyes went wide and filled with fear as he saw Mikey running down the alley way. Leo hissed when he saw the gun get pulled open.

"Stay here!" He yelled as he went forward. Before Don knew what happened, Leo had tackled down the gunner, but the other gang members were on top of him as soon as the gun went off.

 **...**

Raph peeked out and the scene he saw scared the living _shit_ out of him.

Mikey was all the way down the alley, running _back_ now, Leo was fighting with a gun man, and against the other three dragons, and innocent little Don was watching in horror. Raph hopped out but froze as something cold was pressed to his temple.

"Freeze!" This got Mikey, Don, and Leo's attention, all at once.

"Any of you brats move, this one gets shot." Raph could see Mikey's breath hitch and Leo tense. Don was on the verge of tears.

For once, so was Raph.

"Awe, look, he's gonna cry." The man teased. Raph told himself to pull it together.

No, he wouldn't cry.

He stiffened his upper lip, tensed, and growled instead of the whimper his body wanted to produce.

"I-I ain't scared..." But his voice shook as he tried to protest.

The men all laughed and Raph couldn't help the tear that slipped. He locked eyes with Mikey, almost _asking_ for help.

Mikey's heart broke, knowing he couldn't help him from where he was at. The closet person to him was...

Leo looked over to Don, mouthing 'speak'. Don shook his head, tears trailing.

' _What the hell, Leo?'_

Leo locked his eyes on Don and Don realized Leo had a plan.

Don whistled.

Everyone in the alleyway went to look over at Don, who's eyes were shining with tears of terror.

The men burst out laughing, but then Mikey sprinted over as Leo punched the gunman square in the face. This made them all stop laughing.

Raph sprinted over towards Donny and grabbed his arm.

"Raph, get Donny out of here!"

"No W-"

"NOW!" He roared, doing his best to defend himself.

Raph nearly yelped at Leo's tone and dragged Don down the street.

* * *

"Damnit, Mikey! Couldn't stay out of trouble for one minute!" Leo growled, ducking a hit and sending a jab towards the thin dragon.

Mikey laughed lightly, "You know me, the women want me and the men hate me!" He elbowed the other dragon next to Leo before he felt someone grab his arm and break it over the dumpster's edge.

"FUCK!" Mikey cried out, Leo took the opportunity to grab the gun in the gunman's pocket and held it at his head, his other buddies laying on the ground.

Mikey stumbled, and tears entered his eyes. Leo's eyes alit with worry and fear. In fear, he shot the gun in random places before dropping it and running off with his brother, his hand gripped tightly on his shoulder.

As they made their way out of the alleyway, they took a dive into a side street, where they saw Don and Raph hiding in a bush.

Mikey ground his teeth as he leaned against Leo, who was pressed against the wall of the other side of the alley.

"Mik-mikey?" Raph stammered, his eyes wide as he saw the broken bone stretching Mikey's skin.

"Shhh, it's okay you two. Mikey, I need you to stay awake, so we can move, okay?" Mikey nodded weakly. His arm was in so much fucking pain!

Leo breathed deep before looking around.

"Raph, take off your jacket." Raph nodded and took off the slightly oversized red hoodie he had been wearing.

As Leo took the jacket, he motioned Raph over.

"We're going to reset his arm. It can't stay like this until we get back to the car...it won't work." He explained, causing Raph to wince.

Mikey, on the other hand, just cursed under his breath.

"Let's just get this over with, huh?"

Leo frowned but nodded towards Raph. "On three."

On three, Mikey screamed so loud, they were surprised none of the neighborhood came running out.

It was some of the worst pain you could imagine.

When they had straightened out the arm, Leo made Don come over and wrap a stick on the ground against Mikey's arm to use as a splint.

Mikey breathed harshly, his wheat locks falling in his face and sticking to his freckled cheeks due to sweat.

Leo breathed a bit before hugging Mikey close to his chest, surprised the thugs hadn't chased them down. But they were probably busy fleeing, afraid they had told the cops or something.

"You idiot." Leo scolded fondly.

* * *

In their makeshift home, Leo took Mikey's shirt off gently (earning a grunt from the young teen) and then removed his shoes as well, so he could be more comfortable.

Raph frowned and pulled his knees to his chest, Don leaning against him. It was some time mid-afternoon.

Leo crouched down in front of Raph, "What happened in that alleyway?"

Raph bit his bottom lip, "He threw me in a trash can, then I don't know. Our bags and stuff are still in that alleyway though." Raph sighed before Mikey chuckled.

" _That's_ what you are worried about." He huffed, then winced as his arm ached again.

Leo rolled his eyes. "We got 50 dollars from the pawn shop but...we're going to need pain medicine for Mikey now."

"Dude, I'll-wince- live. I'm a big boy now."

"With a broken arm."

"Still a big boy. I'm fine, don't worry." He breathed, wincing again.

"Okay, since you insist, what happened in the alleyway then? Since you're oh-so fine." Leo tried, crossing his arms with a stern look on his face.

Mikey's breath hitched but began to tell the story.

Leo blew a breath, "You two are just prone to trouble." He shook his head as Raph's eyes went wide.

"You knew they were there?"

"Yeah..." Mikey's face looked confused. Why was Raph so...questionable about it?

"T-thanks."

Oh.

"Don't worry about it. You're my little brother, Raphie-Boy. My job is to protect you. Can I sleep now? I'm tired."

"You gonna be able to sleep through the pain?" Leo questioned, no longer stern but worried.

"I'll be fine. Just need to let it heal." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his pain.

"Just fine."

 **...**

Don never went to bed later that night. He was unable to sleep after the day's events.

Mikey had pretended to nap, when Don looked at him last, his face was twisted with pain and guilt. Don wanted to ask, but Mikey wasn't one to be pushed. Plus, he didn't want to bother him.

Leo went out to buy some bread and some peanut butter and jelly. They made sandwhichs and 'went to bed'. Raph fell asleep after awhile and Leo was busy keeping watch over them all, his protective instincts obviously kicking in. Leo was drifting off though.

Don was too busy tinkering with a small toy robot he found not too long ago. He loved taking toys apart and putting them back together. It was fun to him.

Then he heard something.

' _Footsteps...'_  
Don curled into his knees, eyes wide. The doors to the box car were shut, so if he stayed perfectly still, the person wouldn't think to look here.

As he heard the footsteps get fainter and fainter, he breathed a sigh of relief. He put the robot down and leaned across Raph's sleeping form to reach a paper plane on the other side of the bed. He unfolded it and refolded it again. It was something Marci had taught him how to do.

They got to go to school and talk to other kids...

They have TV...

They got to play like little kids did...

They had a childhood. Don wasn't jealous or envious, but he wished- just for that second under the moonlight- that they could've had that.

Before they were forced to run away...orphans...

Other kids had homes, food consistently, clothes that fit them right...

Don looked at the slightly caved in box car roof, the rusty thing couldn't even protect them from light rain, let alone when it snowed.

Hell, he couldn't even make paper planes because paper was scarcely found clean. This one he received already made from Marci.

Even if wishes -shooting stars- became planes, they still couldn't have them.

* * *

 **Damn, I know, deep. (I hoped...?) Anyways, yeah. The boys are street kids. This started out as just a oneshot, but if you guys liked it, I don't mind making more. Just a plot bunny I've had for a while.**

 **Versions I based them off of:**

 **Leo – 2k14/16**

 **Mikey – 2k3/2k7**

 **Raph – 2k12/2k7**

 **Don – 2k3/2k14/16**

 **Hoped ya enjoyed! Reviews are writer's candy and flames will be used to warm the boys up! (Mah heart...)**


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